Nature Calls
by Gail Lipe © 2024
No Other Choice is a small chap book highlighting 13 poems having something to do with nature. I created the book in 2024. Below is the poem that inspired the title.
No Other Choice
Driving Home from church
I never made it to the driveway.
Images of tree lined paths
blasted through the clouds
in my mind,
exploding the thoughts
of should dos.
The woods kept pulling
and pulling,
sending photos of
paths I've walked on,
biked on,
driven on.
Peace so strong
tears filled my eyes.
A misty rope
hooked my heart,
tugged so hard,
I had no other choice
but to follow the call
to sit in the woods,
listen, feel,
lay in the grass,
touch the trees,,
let the sun melt
the insecurities off my face.
The car led me
to a conservation area,
a refuge, a place with
paths winding through
the woods, soothing sounds of
water pushing forward,
wind and sun
dancing through the trees
as leaves pirouette joyfully.
A place to connect
more fully with the earth.
Walking barefoot along
the leaf covered path
the cool dark earth
shared its energy.
Sun rays speckled
the ground as they
flowed down
through the trees,
leaves filtering
out hate, violence,
fear.
Invisible hands
of acceptance,
of connection,
surrounded me,
a river of energy
that flows through
everything,
linking us all,
trees, people,
earth, animals.
A calming, healing
energy
gifted from God.